There’s another Riviera on the Mediterranean: Athens. And the jewel of the Athenian Riviera is glamorous Glyfada, which attracts tourists to its sandy beaches and luxury hotels. Since Greece’s wealthy shipping magnates, including Aristotle Onassis, built villas there in the 1960s, it has been called the Hellenic Hamptons and Knightsbridge-on-Sea.
The U.S. Hellinikon Air Base, just northwest of Glyfada, brought an American influence that has stayed, even though the base closed in 1991. The seafront, three kilometers long, features not only public and private beaches but also several marinas full of yachts and is served by a coastal tram line.
Glyfada, home to many performers, is a cultural magnet, as well. An open-air theater, Exoni, is built on the ruins of an ancient theater.
Glyfada is about half an hour by car from Athens’ central Syntagma Square, or the Acropolis. A tram and underground metro also connect Glyfada with the city center, and the tram runs along the coastline as well. The international airport used to be next door but now it’s 25 minutes away, and Glyfada no longer has to deal with the airport’s traffic or noise.
The wildfires that hit Greece in July were about 30 miles north of Glyfada on the western coast and on the opposite side of Athens, on the eastern coast; Glyfada wasn’t affected at all.
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Boundaries
About 15 kilometers from the center of Athens, Glyfada is bounded by Elliniko to the west, Vari-Voula-Vougliameni to the east, the Aegean Sea to the south and, on the north, Mount Hymettus, home to a protected forest.
Price Range
Prices range from €464 (US$538) per square foot to €929 (US$1,078) per square foot, "depending on proximity to the beach, the view, and the quality of design and construction," said Savvas Savvaidis, chief executive officer of Greece Sotheby’s International Realty.
Other qualities that affect villas’ prices are plot size, house size and whether there’s a swimming pool, said Yohanna Kapralou, property consultant and civil engineer with Aspis Real Estate in Glyfada.
Properties on the sea side of Vouliagmenis Avenue—a street that continues all the way to central Athens—tend to be more expensive because they are so close to the waterfront, Ms. Kapralou said. However, even above Vouliagmenis Avenue, the beach is but a few minutes’ drive away.
Recently, Aspis sold a 700-square-meter (7,535-square-foot), three-level villa with a very large pool on 1,500 square meters (16,146 square feet) of land for €2 million (US$2.32 million).
Apartments in older buildings, dating to the 1990s or before, run €167 (US$194) per square foot to €232 (US$269) per square foot, while newer ones fetch €279 (US$324) per square foot to €836 (US$970) per square foot. Apartment prices range from €300,000 (around US$348,000) to €1.5 million (US$1.74 million), Ms. Kapralou said. The price rises with closeness to the beach, being on a higher floor and if the building has a pool or rooftop garden.
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Housing Stock
Glyfada has a range of options, from apartment buildings with medium to large units, houses and sprawling villas, Mr. Savvaidis said.
"There are a few exceptional villas built by ship-owning families along the coast in the ’20s and ’30s in an elegant country style, featuring large gardens with palm trees and pools," he said.
"Apartment buildings started being built much later, after the 1960s, and are in modern urban style. Ano Glyfada, the highest point of Glyfada, even though it is farthest from the coastline, enjoys uninterrupted sea views and has attracted wealthy Athenians who have built beautiful villas."
Apartments can range from 1,076 square feet to 3,230 square feet, while villas run between 2,153 square feet and 8,611 square feet, Mr. Savvaidis said.
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What Makes It Unique
Glyfada is the center of Athenian summer living, but it carries the summer vibe year round, Mr. Savvaidis said.
It’s easy to reach Athens by tram, metro or car. It has a lively nightlife, shopping and cultural activities, plus the allure of the waterfront.
The former airport in neighboring Elliniko is being redeveloped in an €8 billion(US$9.36 billion) project—the country’s biggest—that is expected to begin this year.
"The development will be a model city and a world-class metropolitan park offering new hotel accommodations, luxury residences, landmarks, extensive green areas, thematic tourist attractions, and cultural and exhibition venues. The park will extend all the way from the coastal front to Vouliagmenis Avenue, connecting the municipalities of Alimos, Glyfada and Argyroupouli/Hellinikon with the waterfront," Mr. Savvaidis said.
Luxury Amenities
One of the first questions is where to park your yacht. Glyfada has a marina with 800 slips. A little to the north, Flisvos Marina is the newest, built in 2004 and accommodating 300 slips. And just to the south is the smaller Vouliagmeni Marina, with about 100 slips.
The area above Esperidon (or Hesperides) Square is the main shopping district, especially along Metaxas Street, where chic boutiques carry designer brands. Slam Shop carries clothing and accessories for sailing and yachting.
While Glyfada has many boutiques carrying luxury brands, such as Ensayar or Enny di Monaco, you’ll also find Tommy Hilfiger, Pull and Bear and Massimo Dutti stand-alone shops.
Glyfada’s waterfront also is a magnet for nightlife, with bars like Ark, cafés like Balux and nightclubs like Island, as well as restaurants of all stripes.
Glyfada is home to Greece’s oldest golf course, designed by Donald Harradine, which is open to the public. The Athletic Nautical Club of Glyfada offers swimming, men’s and women’s water polo, sailing and tennis.
Glyfada is within 15 minutes of several private schools—Little Scholars’ Centre, a British-Greek nursery school; Leonteios, a Franco-Greek high school; and Saint-Paul Delasalle, a Franco-Greek primary school.
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Who Lives There
"For over 50 years, the presence of an American population in the area largely contributed to the suburb’s character," Mr. Savvaidis said.
"In the ’60s, wealthy Athenians came to build second homes by the sea, but in the modern years it became affordable to middle class and became a choice of permanent residence for Athenians," he said.
"The atmosphere is young, energetic, and outgoing as a result. Inhabitants are mostly Greek, families with young children, singles and expats enjoying the more relaxed and sunny lifestyle."
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Notable Residents
Glyfada’s paparazzi quotient rises in the summer, but plenty of celebrities make it their home year-round.
The late Aristotle Onassis started the trend, and brought his wife Jackie Kennedy Onassis. Glyfada is especially popular with Greek singers, actors, football players, politicians and millionaires, such as pop singer and politician Bessy Argyraki; the model Yvonne Bosnjak and her partner, singer Antonis Remos; actress Sophia Aliberti; singer Christos Dantis; 2005 Eurovision winner Helena Paparizou; and soccer player Takis Fyssas.
The late Prime Minister Constantine Mitsotakis also had a home in Glyfada.
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Outlook
"The coastline was never hit by the crisis," Ms. Kapralou said, referring to the financial mayhem that’s plagued the country in recent years. "Now, all the prices are rising again because the location is so good and you get lots of value for the money."
Glyfada’s outlook is buoyed by international interest, not only from other European Union nationals, but also buyers from Turkey, Saudi Arabia and China, Mr. Savvaidis said.
Greece’s "golden visa" also attracts property buyers. An investment of €250,000 (US$292,500), including in real estate, can lead to a permanent resident permit for those who are not already European Union citizens.
It’s renewable every five years, for the entire family, with no residence restrictions and exemption from Greek taxes if the investor spends fewer than 183 days a year in Greece.
"It is a very lively property market," Mr. Savvaidis said of Glyfada, adding that it has "great potential due to the upcoming developments," such as the Hellinikon project.